(■, 


THE    POLITICAL   UNIFICATION 


OF    THE 


UNITED  STATES  AND  CANADA. 


An  Address  Delivered  by  Mr.  William  B.  Ellison, 
THE  President  of  the  Fordham  Club,  at  a  Re- 
ception held  at  the  Club  House,  on  Kings- 
bridge  Road,  Fordham,  New  York  City,  on  the 
Evening  of  March  14,  1891. 


Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  : 

It  was  with  no  inconsiderable  diflfidence  on  my  part 
that  I  accepted  your  courteous  invitation  to  address 
you  this  evening  on  a  subject  so  comprehensive  in  its 
nature  and  so  vitally  important  to  the  people  of  the 
ITnited  States  and  Canada  as  the  political  unification 
of  their  governments.  You  will  also  readily  understand 
the  impossibility  of  giving  anything  more  than  a  mere 
superficial  idea  of  tlio  question  in  the  short  time  war- 
ranted by  an  occasion  like  tlic  present.  Yet  I  may 
succeed  this  evening  in  placing  the  subject  generally 
before  you,  and  at  least  present  for  your  after  and  more 
matured  consideration  some  of  its  most  important 
j)hases. 

It  may,  to  begin  with,  be  conceded  that  such  a  union 
must  promise  advantages  to  both  countries  before  it 
will  become  possible  of  consummation,  and  it  is  natur- 


ally  of  great  imj^ortance  to  us  to  ascertain  the  benefits 
that  we  would  receive  tlierefrom.  That  question  has 
been  given  little  or  no  consideration  among  us.  It 
seems  to  me  that  if  Americans  were  generally  better  in- 
formed in  relation  to  Canada  and  her  rosoui'ces,  the 
question  of  polit'^^al  union  would  at  once  receive 
greater  attention  and  au  impetus  here  that  might  be 
felt  in  Canada.  At  present  it  has,  as  we  all  know,  little 
or  no  part  in  our  affairs. 

In  considering  what  Canada  could  offer,  in  case  of 
union  with  us,  I  may  properly  first  refer  to  her  natural 
mineral  wealth,  at  present  very  slightly  developed,  and 
wanting  but  the  capital  we  can  so  readily  spare  to  pro- 
duce it  ready  for  use  in  almost  uidimited  quantities.  I 
will  speak  only  of  the  most  important  minorcds  to  be 
found  in  Canada  and  make  some  brief  allusion  to  their 
quantity  and  quality. 

Phosphates,  used  largely  in  the  manufacture  of 
phosphoric  acid,  phosphorus  and  fertilizer  of  the  soil, 
are  found  in  vast  quantities  in  the  Provinces  of  Ontario 
and  Quebec,  and  tiiey  are  considered  the  ^_iurest  in  the 
world.  Cargoes  exposed  to  analysis  have  run  as  high 
as  37  to  39  per  cent,  of  phosphoric  acid,  equivalent  to 
from  80  to  86  ])er  cent,  phosphate  of  lime.  The  mines 
in  the  valley  of  the  Ottawa  lliver  have  become  famous 
and  are  now  being  worked. 

Asbestos,  that  fibrous  mineral  uoted  for  its  power  to 
resist  fire  and  acids,  is  found  and  mined  in  the  eastern 
portions  of  the  Province  of  Quebec.  Its  uses  in  fire- 
proof cement  and  putty  for  joints  and  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  fire  and  acid-proof  blocks  and  bricks  are  now 
well  known. 

Antimony  is  found  in  the  Province  of  New  Bruns- 
wick in  such  quantities  as  to  place  that  province  among 
the  great  antimony  producing  countries  of  the  world 
Its  analysis  varies  from  01  to  (59  ])er  cent. 

Barytes  of   very  fine  quality  have   been  found  in  the 


y  ^ ■■•■;:•■ ';«:,.,;:,•;         -v-^^;.  ■.■■■■' 

Provinces  of  Ontario,  Quebec  and  Nova  Scotia.  This 
mineral  is  as  3'et  almt  it  totally  undeveloped. 

Bituminous  shales,  from  which  oils  can  be  manufac- 
tured, are  found  in  very  large  quantities  in  Nova  Scotia, 
but  there  is  little  or  no  market  for  them  in  Canada,  and 
our  tariif  prohibits  their  admission  into  this  country. 
The  yield  is  about  GO  gallons  of  oil  from  one  ton  of 
shales  and  7,500  cubic  feet  of  gas  from  the  same  quan- 

tity. 

The  coal  area  is  97,000  square  miles,  and  both  bitu- 
minous and  anthracite  coal  are  found  in  great  abun- 
dance. 

Copper  is  one  of  the  most  important  of  the  mineral 
treasures  of  Canada.  It  has  been  found  in  almost  all 
of  the  provinces,  but  the  richest  mines  are  along  the 
north  shore  of  Lake  Superior. 

Gold  is  also  found  in  almost  all  the  Provinces,  but 
in  Nova  Scotia  alone  the  gold  fields  cover  from  6,000 
to  7,000  square  miles.  .       ;; 

Graphites  of  the  purest  quality  are  also  found  in 
abundance.  The  Canadian  product  is  almost  identical 
with  that  of  Ceylon,  which  is  the  finest  in  the  world. 

Iron   in    unlimited    quantities   is  found    in    all    the  ^ 

Provinces  of  the  Dominion.  These  ores  equal  the 
Swedish  and  Russian  in  quality.  They  are  in  almost 
all  instances  located  adjacent  to  the  coal  fields.  The 
Haycock  mine,  situated  near  Ottawa,  it  is  estimated 
coxild  alone  yield  one  hundred  tons  per  day  for  one 
hiuidred  and  fifty  years  before  it  would  bo   exhausted. 

Petroleum,  salt,  silver,  load,  gypsum,  manganese,  and 
mica,  arsenic,  bismuth,  cobalt,  lignite,  nickel,  pyrites 
lithographic  stone,  stones  suitable  for  grindstones^ 
marbles  of  various  qualities,  white,  black,  brown,  gray, 
mottled,  variegated,  spotted  and  green,  white  quartz, 
soa])  stone,  emery,  agates,  amethysts,  jasper,  garnets, 
topaz,  bloodstont!  and  opals,  are  also  found  in  large  . 
quantities.     As  you    will   observe    Canada    has   almost 


« 


i'.*' 


unlimited  mineral  wealth,  but  you   must   not   conclude 
that  her  natural  resources  are  confined  to  minerals. 

Let  us  now  study  for  a  few  moments  the  dimensions 
of  Canada  and  incidentally  the  nature  of  its  soil  and  its 
products  other  than  mineral.  We  have  been  so  long 
accustomed  to  see  Canada  figure  on  our  maps  as  a  nai'- 
•  row  strip  that  it  is  difficult  for  us  to  realize  that  a  rival 
nation  with  a  territory  vastly  larger  than  the  whole 
American  Union  (exclusive  of  Alaska)  has  arisen  upon 
our  borders.  We  are  in  the  habit  of  laughing  at  the 
mistakes  of  English  w-riters  and  tourists  concerning  tho 
geography  of  the  United  States,  but  this  ignorance 
about  America  is  not  half  srf  great  as  the  ignorance  of 
the  majority  of  our  people  respecting  a  counti'y  imme- 
diately adjoining  them. 

We  can  for  the  present  leave  out  of  consideration  the 
beautiful  Provinces  of  Ontario,  Quebec,  New  Brunswick, 
Nova  Scotia  and  Prince  Edw:ard  Island,  which  may  be 
known  as  Eastern  Canada,  and  at  once  contemplate 
that  vast  region  once  known  as  the  Northwestern  Ter- 
ritory, purchased  from  tlie  Hudson  Bay  Company  in 
1870  and  now  divided  into  four  provinces  :  Assinaboia, 
containing  95,000  square  miles  ;  Saskatchewan,  114,000 
square  miles  ;  Alberta,  100,000  square  miles,  and  Atha- 
basca, 122,000  square  miles.  We  have  in  these  four 
provinces  an  area  of  2,665,252  square  miles,  a  region 
larger  than  all  Russia  in  Europe,  while  the  United 
States  is  but  3,547,000  square  miles.  The  world  is  be- 
ginning to  find  out  that  this  great  region,  commonly 
supposed  to  be  the  unquestioned  home  of  the  beaver 
and  the  jjolar  bear,  really  contains  some  of  the  finest 
wheat  and  grazing  lands  of  the  continent.  I  do  not 
allude  now  to  the  comparatively  well-known  resources 
of  Manitoba  and  Assinaboia,  but  of  regions  lying  400 
miles  north  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  as  far  up 
as  the  Wild  Peace  River,  where  has  been  grown  the 
No.  I  wheat  that  received  the  first  prize  at  the  Cen- 
tennial Exposition  held  at  Philadelphia  in  1876. 


Proceeding,  let  us  look  at  the  Province  of  Manitoba,  . 
with  its  128,200  square  miles  of  area.  Here  are  76,- 
000,000  acres  of  wheat-growiug  land  and  estimated  to 
be  at  least  as  good  as  any  in  the  world.  The  average 
yield  appears  to  be  18  bushels  to  the  acre,  of  which 
95  per  cent,  will  grade  No.  1  hard.     In  the  Qu'Appelle        •  f 

Yaliey  there  is   in    successful    operation   a  joint  stock  ^ 

farm  of  64,000  acres  (100  square  miles).  The  Manitoba 
wheat  is  well  known  as  being  extremelj  hard,  yield- 
ing over  25  per  cent,  more  than  Minnesota  wheat. 
There  are  physical  causes  for  this.  The  further  j'ou 
travel  toward  the  northern  limit  of  its  growth  the  finer 
the  quality  of  the  soil  you  meet.  The  sub-soil  is  kept 
moist  in  summer  by  the  the  slow  melting  of  the  deep 
winter  frosts.  Again,  the  sunshine  is  longer  by  nearly 
two  hours  each  day  in  Manitoba  than  in  Ohio  between 
the  15th  day  of  June  and  the  1st  of  July,  whereby  the 
grain  obtains  all  the  benefits  of  increased  solar  light. 

The  Province  of  Alberta  aftbrds  the  best  grazing  por- 
tion of  Canada.  It,  while  lying  far  to  the  nortli  of  the 
American  line,  has  a  temperature  less  severe  than  many 
of  our  AVesteru  States.  The  climate  is  more  like  that 
of  England  ;  it  is  cooler  in  summer  and  warmer  in 
winter  than  in  the  plains  below.  The  "  Chinook  "  Avinds 
from  the  Gulf  Stream  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  blowing 
through  the  expansive  passes  of  the  Eocky  Mountains 
so  temper  the  atmosphere  during  the  winter  that  snow 
seldom  accumtdates  to  any  great  depth  or  severe  cold 
weather  prevails  to  any  great  extent ;  at  any  rate  not  to 
a  8uffici»nit  extent  to  prevent  cattle  roaming  ail  the 
year  around. 

Next  and  last  we  may  refer  to  British  Columbia, 
with  an  area  of  341,305  square  miles.  It  is  larger  than 
Great  Britain  and  France  combined,  and  five  times  as 
large  as  all  of  the  New  England  States.  It  is  a  beau- 
tiful country,  with  fertile  fields,  rich  mines  and  a  perfect 
climate. 

To  the  enormous  wealth  in  mineral  and  grain  produc- 


-■,;,;.'  ■  6  ...  ..„: 

ing  lands  must  bo  added  Canada's  almost  unlimited 
supply  of  timber.  That  this  inexhaustible  source  of 
lumber  would  be  of  untold  value  to  this  country  will 
probably  be  thoroughly  appreciated  by  every  one  of  us 
who  attempts  to  build  or  buy  a  home. 

Then  again,  we  must  not  forget  the  Canadian  fisheries 
that  have  been  given  so  mucli  of  our  attention  during 
the  past  few  years.  It  is  along  the  shores  of  the  Do- 
minion of  Canada  that  almost  all  of  our  sea  fish  ar«^ 
caught.  Canada  fully  appreciates  the  value  of  her 
fisheries  and  has  tenaciously  protected  and  preserved 
them,  greatly  to  our  discomfiture  at  times. 

It  may  occur  to  you,  as  some  refutation  of  the  kindlj' 
things  I  have  said  of  Canada,  that  they  are  in  some 
degree  in  conflict  with  the  doleful  pictures  of  Canadian 
distress  presented  to  you  through  the  medium  of  some 
of  the  political  addresses  made  by  Canadians  in  the 
past  campaign.  I  can  only  say  that  in  my  opinion 
they  were  as  badly  overdrawn  as  were  the  statements 
of  opposing  parties  who  endeavored  to  impress  the 
people  with  the  fact  that  they  were  in  a  flood  of  pros- 
perity. Nevertheless,  you  and  I  appreciate  that  dis- 
paraging remarks  made  by  Canadians  concerning  their 
own  covmtry  cannot  fail  to  lower  it  in  the  estimation 
of  others.  Such  a  fault  cannot  certainl}'  be  attributed 
to  Americans. 

I  would  not,  however,  feel  justified  in  closing  this 
portion  of  my  n^raarks  if  I  did  not  speak  a  few  words 
for  the  Canadian  people.  We  have  within  the  United 
States  about  1,000,000  native-born  Canadians,  and  it 
cannot  be  disputed  that  there  is  no  element  among  us 
who  so  readily  assimilate  themselves  with  us  and  our 
institutions.  They  are  thrifty,  energetic  and  law 
abiding.  They  readily  naturalize  and  become  good 
citizens.  The  educational  facilities  of  Canada,  its 
standard  of  commercial  honor  and  its  excellent  system 
of  government,  place  the  country  in  an  enviable  posi- 
tion among  the  nations  of  the  earth. 


/ 


7 


It  lia.s  become  a  couijxiratively  well-settled  convic- 
tion in  the  minds  of  the  Aniericau  people  that  Canadians 
generally  are  desirous  of  allying  themselves  and  their 
country  with  the  American  Republic.     That  this  is  not 

'  consistent  with  the  facts  has  been  very  forcibly  shown 
by  the  general  elections  held  throughout  Canada  on  the 
fifth  of  the  present  month,  the  result  of  which  was  to 
continue  in  power,  by  a  large  majority,  the  "  Conservative" 
party,  who  made  their  loj'alty  to  fclie  British  Crown  the 
distinguishing  feature  of  their  campaign,  while  on  the 
other  hand,  the  opposition,  known  as  the  "  Reform  "  i)arty 
were  vigorously  scored  for  their  alleged  intention  to 
further  the  political  union  of  Canada  with  the  United 
States.  Yet  it  would  not  be  safe  to  conclude  that  even 
the  larger  portion  of  the  so-called  "  Reform  "  party  ad- 
vocated or  were  in  sympathy  with  a.  policy  looking 
toward  union  with  this  country  ;  on  the  contrary,  they 
with  great  vigor  discLiimed  any  such  desire.  That 
there  is,  however,  an  element  within  or  in  sympathy 
with  the  "  Reform "  party,  not  unfavorable  to  the 
political  union  of  Canada  and  the  Ihiited  States,  cannot 
now  be  fairly  disputed.  Nevei-  before  was  the  issue  so 
fully  and  forcibly  brought  Ijefore  the  Canadian  people 
as  in  the  recent  contest  and  never  before  was  there  pro- 
duced such  evidences  of  strong  and  vigorous  elements 
favorable  to  political  union  with  this  country,  if  such 
union  should  become  necessary  in  order   to  obtain    the 

-  free  and  uni<:>8tricted  entrance  into  the  markets  of  the 
United  States  and  obtain  the  use  of  our  abundant  cap- 
ital to  develop  their  natural  resources.  The  C^anadian 
people  have  considered  and  are  now  considering  the 
advantages  that  they  believe  would  accrue  to  them 
from  freedom  of  trade  with  this  country,  and  the  at- 
tractiveness of  tlie  prospect  has  with  many  proven 
much  stronger  than  their  affections  for  Great  Britain. 
It  seems  to  me  that  since  the  late  campaign  it  is  too 
late  to  deny  that  many  of  Canada's  ablest  and  best  men 
believe  that  her  interests  will  be  best  conserved  by  uur 


restricted  trade  with  the  United  States;  iu  fact,  I  think 
it  Ih  the  overwhehning  consensus  of  opinion  that  such 
would  be  the  case.  The  difficulty,  however,  is  the  price 
to  be  paid  for  the  desired  privileges.  Some  go  so  far 
as  to  openly  advocate  ])olitical  union,  if  such  freedom 
of  trade  coiild  not  be  otherwise  obtained  ;  while  others, 
and  they  at  present  are  largely  controlling  in  numV)ers, 
are  still  Avedded  to  the  British  connection.  How  long 
that  affection  for  the  mother  country  will  resist  the 
apparent  benefits  incident  to  the  freedom  of  our  mar- 
kets and  the  use  of  our  capital  remains  to  be  seen. 
That  it  has  already  succumbed  with  man 3^  has  been 
made  apparent,  and  that  it  will  with  others  is  not  im- 
probable. It  does  not  seem  unreasonable  to  assume,  if 
Canadians  btdieve  that  our  markets  and  our  capital  will 
be  largely  conducive  to  their  prosperity,  that  the 
desire  for  that  prosperity  will  materially  lessen  in  the 
minds  of  the  commercial  public  their  present  disin- 
clination to  closer  connection  with  their  neighbors  on 
the  south. 

Time  alone  will  jn-ove  to  the  Canadian  people  the 
advantages  of  union  with  this  country,  while  a  greater 
degree  of  information  about  Canada  and  her  resources 
will  surely  incline  our  people  in  the  same  di- 
rection. The  natural  markets  for  Canadian  products 
are  thost;  of  the  United  States,  and  the  demand  in 
Canada  for  those  markets  will  so  increase  that  political 
union  will  not  be  permitted  to  stand  in  their  way. 
No  \ini(m  other  than  political  will  have  suffi- 
cient assurances  of  permanency  to  ever  thort)Ughly 
or  satisfactorily  warrant  the  people  of  the  two  countries 
trading  unrestrainedly  and  no  trade  other  than  the 
most  unrestricted  will  ultimately  satisfy  either.  The 
movement  is  well  started  in  Canada  and  will  further 
develope,  and  a  little  more  consideration  of  its  merits 
by  our  people  will  certainly  prompt  them  to  keep  pace 
with  their  Canadian  cousins. 

There  is  one  thing  for  us   all   to   keep  constantly  in 


9 

mind  and  tbat  is,  tliat  the  Canadian  people  are  proud 
of  tliefr  country,  they  behave  in  its  future,  and  wi'l  not 
bear  with  the  idea  of  being  simply  absorbed.  That 
they  will  ultimately  be  willing  to  join  us  under  fair  and 
equitable  circumstances  I  have  no  doubt ;  but  that  they 
can  be  driven  to  seek  our  protection  by  any  acts  of  op- 
pression on  our  part  I  consider  absurd.  In  my  mind, 
threats  of  "  non-intercourse "  discrimination  against 
them  in  tariff  meas\ires  or  any  other  act  that  occurs  to 
them  as  an  imposition  upon  them,  or  a  denial  of  their 
just  claims  or  rights,  will  hinder  and  retard  political 
union  for  ages  to  come,  if  not  forever.  No  encourage- 
ment will  be  greater  or  bear  better  fruit  than  that  of  an 
ai)pareut  desire  on  our  part  to  deal  with  them  equitably 
and  justly. 

In  conclusion,  I  trust  that  I  can  say  that  the   invita- 
tion given  Canada  a  century  ago  to  join   her   fortunes 
with  the  American  Eepublic  is  still  open,  and  that   the 
■  child  is  born  who  will  see  it  accepted. 


■VI 


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[499] 


